Nag Ashwin’s ambitious futuristic sci-fi mythologically-inspired Kalki 2898 AD is now out in the wild. Starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan in the lead, the movie is replete with star-studded cameos. With such big names in Bollywood and South Indian cinema taking the lead in this grand-scale film, does it deliver an impact? Read our review of Kalki 2898 AD to know all about it.

A grand spectacle

Kalki 2898 AD is primarily set in the city of Kaashi, almost 6,000 years after the events of Mahabharata have transpired. The movie starts with the story of a young Ashwatthama, who is now trying to atone for his sin of using his Brahmastra to kill Uttara’s unborn child to end the Pandava lineage. As Krishna curses him to immortality, Ashwatthama is forced to face his mistakes.

Bhairava (Prabhas), a bounty hunter living in Kaashi with his AI-powered vehicle, Bujji (Keerthy Suresh), takes on the central role. All he dreams of is moving to the Complex, a kingdom ruled by the Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan), and to move there, he needs over a million units. The Complex is also home to hundreds of women who are kept there for a singular purpose – procreation, and a mysterious Project K. One of the women is SUM-80, aka Sumati (Deepika Padukone), who manages to escape from the Complex to protect her unborn child. In comes Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan) to protect Sumati and her child from all the villains.

Kalki 2898 AD is visually spectacular. The desert city, the futuristic weapons, and the dystopian world are all quite Hollywood-esque. Don’t be surprised if it reminds you of movies like Dune, Blade Runner, Mad Max or more. But despite nods to these classic Hollywood movies, Kalki 2898 AD does hold its own.

A half-baked plot

The plot isn’t the biggest strength of Kalki 2898 AD; it is half-baked at best. The dystopian film is flimsy in its storytelling despite visual grandeur, spectacular fight scenes and fancy machines. Quite a few characters’ presence made no difference to the movie. One of them is Bhairava’s girlfriend, Roxie (Disha Patani). She came for a hot minute, did a song-and-dance routine and disappeared. The only agenda of Patani’s role seemed to be to take Bhairava to the Complex. Deepika Padukone, though a master of her craft, is a damsel in distress who is only there to birth a saviour, yet again. Prabhas as Bhairava was fun to watch, especially his banter with Bujji. But the true hero of the movie was Amitabh Bachchan’s Ashwatthama.

Ashwatthama is a larger-than-life character, both physically and otherwise. Eight feet tall and a master fighter, his presence in the movie is a crowd-puller. While Amitabh Bachchan’s role is minimal in the first half of the film, he rules in the second half. His fight scenes were undoubtedly the best. Whether he was fighting the soldiers of the Complex or Bhairava and Bujji, Ashwatthama did it with a panache that no one other than Amitabh Bachchan could have pulled off.

Kalki 2898 AD tries hard to make a mark and succeeds in parts. While the first half is slow-moving, the second half picks pace. Unfortunately, the movie ends on a cliffhanger, leaving too many questions unanswered. The movie is now in theatres, and that’s all for the review of Kalki 2898 AD.

Can you watch Kalki 2898 AD with your family?: If you aren’t afraid of some kick-ass fight sequences, enjoy it with your fam. There’s no sex scene or nudity blocking your way.

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